[1][2] In November 2023, Craddick announced he would run for reelection to a record twenty-ninth term in the 2024 Texas House of Representatives election.
While he was a doctoral student at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Craddick decided to run for the legislature to succeed the incumbent Republican Frank Kell Cahoon of Midland, who was not seeking a third two-year term.
In December 2006, Craddick faced credible challenges to his re-election as Speaker for the Eightieth Texas Legislature: Brian McCall (R-Plano), Jim Pitts (R-Waxahachie), and Senfronia Thompson (D-Houston), all of whom announced candidacies for the speakership.
[9] Supporters of Pitts pressed for a secret ballot in order to avoid retribution should their efforts fail,[9] while Craddick had maintained all along that he had more than the minimum number of votes needed for re-election.
[12] In the most extreme case, Craddick's political views and leadership compelled Kirk England (R-Grand Prairie) to run for re-election as a Democrat in 2008.
[14] The attempts to oust Craddick continued through the weekend as other Republicans made additional motions, which were also disallowed for a time, although ultimately successful.
Craddick's close allies, such as Representative Phil King of Weatherford, said that the actions against the Speaker were an effort by Democrats to gain control of the legislature before the legislative and congressional redistricting process of 2011.
The last Texas House Speaker to be removed had also been a Republican, Ira Hobart Evans, who was rejected in 1871 for cooperating with Democrats on an elections bill.
[17] He lists his occupation as a sales representative for Mustang Mud, an oilfield supply company, although he also is a real estate speculator and developer.
Craddick receives royalties of more than $2 million per year for brokering extraction lease sales, which are potential conflicts of interest as he sits on the committee that oversees the state's oil industry.